Hi all, I'd love to share with you a local project I've been quietly working away on for the past few weeks.

My name is Ella and I am a part of a group called Summer of Social Change. Summer of Social Change is a mixed group of likeminded, passionate designers from various backgrounds who share in their love for social design and a desire to help people and make change in this world. The majority of our members are currently studying industrial design at RMIT and as such come with a wide range of design skills which are relevant to a number of industries. We have a collective interest in the waste industry and would love to work on solutions and improvements to stop unnecessary waste of goods and help in the redistribution of rescued goods.

In response to the large number of abandoned bicycles in Canberra's CBD that are currently being sold as scrap I plan to set up a non-for-profit community bike workshop in Canberra. The focus is to create an inviting community for cycling enthusiasts and the general community alike whilst upcycling the city's abandoned bicycles. We will encourage people to share skills and teach others how to fix their own bikes or construct a bike from donated parts on site in an open workshop format. I will be honest and say that my own work on bikes has only just begun but I have caught the bug and would love to set up a space for the cycling and greater community to connect. Using only volunteers I am are hoping to get up and running by the end of January.

However, setting up a new program from scratch is no easy task and to get the project up and running I'd love any help I can get! If anybody wishes to get involved in any way possible whether it be with volunteering mechanical or administrative skills, donating parts or just to offer moral support please get in touch, I'd love to hear from you!

Just to let you know some of the things I'm up to at the moment because so far the project has been great fun I've met with loads of people who who have kept me inspired and will keep chugging along.

Many of you will know the Recyclery by the lake. I have spoken to Jeff who runs the show down there. After getting loads of valueble advice and contacts and support I am on my way to finding the project a home

I have also been in contact with many similar non-for-profit orginisations around the world who were all quick to offer moral support and advice on how they run their co-ops. I have been inspired by the work these groups have been doing for some time and my goal is to bring all the best bits to Canberra's workshop.

Finally, people are jumping on board to donate parts and bikes which has been really encouraging. Beside that its great to have a lovely chat to the donors.

Let me first explain where the project currently sits. Next week I am hopefully that we will be able to secure a home for the Workshop-Hooray! After that things will kick into action and hopefully be ready to open end of Jan. Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly and keep an eye on this page because I will post all the updates for you to check up on

On your statement

I haven't really looked that hard, but have heard there are other community bike workshops in Canberra. Are you integrating with them, competing or filling a void compared to them

It's a good question and one I had to think hard about before starting this project. I did a lot of research into what was on offer in Canberra and found that most of the 'co-ops' tailor to certain groups of cyclists or are 'underground' and hard to find. What I have found is there isn't a workshop that opens its doors to everyone who passes through, wither they have knowledge of bikes or not. The idea of the Workshop is to be as inviting and encouraging as possible. This prompted me to look into other models of operation that might be better suited to the general community as well as the cycling community.

Another goal of the workshop will be to upcycle all of Canberraâ€™s old, sad abandoned bikes-rather than them facing the sad reality of the metal scrappers. I suppose the mentality is that if someone personally builds an old bike up to suit their needs will probably form a greater attachment to the bike than someone who simply purchases a secondhand bike (Iâ€™m sure anyone who has done work on a bike feels this way). This will mean less abandoned bikes sitting around and more people joining the cycling community may it be for pleasure/to commute or to race.

Amongst the many people I have spoken with have been the Recyclery and the Canberra Environment Centre. Both are keen to support the idea and had a lot to do with the ANU-bike co-op and are keen to reinstate a service for people along these lines. Also, I'd love to invite any existing underground co-ops or people who love restore old bicycles to come along and broaden the skill base as well as meet new people and have a great time doing so. If you're out there let me know (or keep following on) because I hope to soon deliver some very exciting news!

I only started cycling this year, so I don't think I'd be of any practical use, but moral support I can do!

It's a wonderful idea. It's always nice to see someone doing something selfless. You should contact local bike stores (if you haven't already) as they will no doubt have old bits and pieces they'd be willing to donate, if not also time and/or money... and maybe even a space... who knows.

Hi everybody,Just to let you know I'm just an inch away from securing some space for the workshop! Stay tuned in-I'll hopefully be able to confirm later in the week. Also, If anybody would like to put their hand up to help out in a working-bee mid January to get the workshop up and running I'd love to hear from you.

Metzla- Your moral support is always welcome I hope to see you at the workshop some time!

Heh I have been asking around trying to donate my time and effort to something like this.

I have been stripping and building up my bikes over the last few years, and making "junk" work just gives me a lot of satisfaction. I can be handy with rebuilding wheels, and have build up several wheelsets.

What would be the target receipient of the output of this workshop?

Ideally I'd like to see Canberrans regard cycling as a viable means of commuting and travel. Canberra has one of the best connected bike paths in the country. What I'd prefer not to see are people receiving a free bike, and then taking to the roads without a helmet, neglecting respect of fellow users of the road (i.e disregarding traffic lights).

Not sure if this is still a go (noticed the OP posted recently in the Victoria subforum...). If it's still happening, would be worth talking to the chaps at Hobart Bike Kitchen as they'd have a few insights into setting something like this up in a smaller city.

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